My salesperson told me it usually takes 2-3 months for VPP pricing. But there were at least 8 G37s on the lot- not exactly flying out the doors.

Agreed on the 6MT- much better clutch and shifter action on the 37 vs. the 35 I drove. The vibration was definitely there in the shifter but honestly that doesn't bother me one bit.

 

I took a test drive on Wednesday night in black/black G37S 6mt. I'm your average age M3 driver I've owned about 35 cars in my 35 years of driving, including

'67 Firebird 400
'70 Nova SS
'70 Trans am
'77 Corvette (crap)
'79 Ferrari 308GTS (best handling)
'82 Porsche 911 turbo 4mt (fastest to date 96 mph in 2nd)
'84 Maserati Bi-turbo 4mt (very much fun to drive)
'03 Infiniti G35C Auto
'05 Infiniti G35C 6MT

Have had all cars flat out.

After the test drive, I gave the sales guy some money for the next Black/Black fully loaded (without 4ws) car to arrive.

Here's how I'll describe the new car. I there were 2 of me racing each other one in a G35 one in a G37, G37 would be an easy win and "feels like" it could pass the G35 on a corner on the outside. Finally the front of G35 stays flat thru corners like a true sports car. The shifting is MUCH smoother, it's easier to accelerate through all the gears with the passenger getting a smoother ride than an automatic.

The overall feeling is solid and smooth, yet it's more nimble than the G35. Driving the G35 home (15k miles on it) it felt much looser, @ 90mph on freeway, it sways with every movement of wheel like 298 HP is too much for the car, while the G37 feels like 330 hp is not enough.

Pictures of the car I drove are already up.

 

yep. just drove the new coupe myself. Journey/5AT. I have an 06 6mt stock.

The g37 felt quicker down low, like in 1st gear. 2nd gear felt comparable to my g35, 3rd felt long and slightly weak and 4th was just downright lethargic compared to g35.

Obviously the gearing is longer on the 5AT than what I am used to, so that's why it feels like that. There's definitely a difference in performance, and it is obviously noticeable -- 6mt is faster, and not just by a little bit. BUT, most people won't drive fast enough/hard enough to notice, so that's why a lot of people say the difference is small. I'd prolly agree that the difference, say... 0-50 is fairly small. 50-100 would be noticeable and anything faster will be obvious.

Anyway.. yeah, feels pretty quick in the lower gears and kinda slow in the upper gears. It reminded me a little of my fiance's FX35 in a way..

Sign me up for a 6mt.

 

i've had my g37 6mt for a few days now.. i agree some gears feel diff than others.. i dont feel 3rd,4th,5th as much as the others but what i've found is pushing down the gas just a little doesnt offer much in those gears.. but if you press down half way in "any gear" you'll definately feel that pull. So what i'm saying is the pull is there in all gears.. some gears you have to press down just a bit further to get that pull but it's definately there!

 

I wonder if the style of pushing down on the pedal is now different since, apparently, you are not opening a throttle body valve but rather are somehow altering the intake valve opening. When I test drove a BMW 335i I also found you really had to put your foot into the pedal to get the response but I suppose that is a characteristic of driving a turbo.

 

Had the chance to drive a 2008 G37S 6 speed Saturday. I currently drive an 06 VW Passat 3.6 loaded. All I can say abot the G37 is WOW, what a car. When I trade next spring I know what I'm getting. This car drives great and is very smooth with more than enough power, I like the way the 6 speed feels. Only had about a 20 minute drive in it but they offered to let me take one home for the weekend when I have the time, just might have to take them up on it.

 

I was lucky enough to drive a 5sp auto journey and a 6mt sport package. My daily driver is an 06 G35 Sedan. The day before I drove a Shelby GT-H. The GT-H was a terrible car in every respect and was 44k with 8K miles on it. I was totally impressed with the G37's and have been interested in the various reactions from those who compare it unfavorably to their G35. I am guessing there is some confusion about feel versus data. When someone says the G37 is not as fast, I think the ET or cornerning speed is less. I have not seen a road test comparo, but doubt a stock G35 out accelerates or out handles a G37. But the G37 is such a deceptive car. It rides so well, is so composed over various surfaces, free of vibration, and noise, that it seems as if you are on a ride in the park. But then look at the speedo and OMG. I loved the car. Am trying to sell my 06 so I can terminate my lease early to get a G37. Add in all the esthetic improvements and I can't think of more car for anything close to this money. Just my view.

 

I FINALLY got to see the G37 in person (I think I'm the last one to see it, lol) today. I drove it as well. All I can say is that for those of you who own one....I HATE YOU!


j/k


Enjoy your cars ladies and gents, you've got a good one!

 

Interesting how many fel like the 6MT is much faster when all of the tests show them to be basically the exact same in performance or within a tenth in the 1/4 mile. In one test comparison from the same testing org the 5AT had a higher trap speed. As someone else stated though ther eare lots of variables that make a difference.
When I drove the 5AT it felt stronger than my coupe for certain. But I could tell that it wasn't broke in yet. The 5ATs performance is deminished more by pre-break in engine management than the 6MT. Once both cars are broken in you get better acceleration and gas mileage with a more dramatic difference from the AT.

 

I received my 6MT one week ago. And after 400 miles I have a few thoughts.

I am switching out from a 2002 M3 Coupe 6sp manual to this car. And there is quite a difference. First of all the M3 feels much heavier, harder to get up to speed without feeling that you have to push it there. NOT the case in the G37. There is not the feeling of raw power pushing you forward, but I find that I am at 4000 rpm's in a flash. This car wants to be in the 4-5k rpm range to get any action. The M3 can get it from the get go. And then I hear that this car is heavier than the M. I couldn't believe it. The G feels like it jumps around when you are cornering and accelerating. The M absolutely did not feel this way.

The 6MT will not start up unless the clutch is all the way to the floor board. But then the shift point is just barely push down. I would want to put a clutch stop in so that I could keep from pushing the clutch past the shift point on every shift, but then I would not be able to start the car up. This is a major inconvenience for me. I put a clutch stop in the M and it helped me a lot in not having to feel the shift point so precisely each time.

For those of you wanting to try out the Journey, TRY THE 6MT TOO. It is VERY easy to drive, VERY luxurious, VERY full of features, VERY responsive, VERY obedient, VERY much worth the time spent. There are a couple of features that are not in the 6MT like the steering wheel will not go up when you enter and exit the car as in the 5AT. But that is just the price of the 6MT experience.

I would like for the console elbow rest to be able to move forward to MY comfort spot rather than the one that Infiniti chose for me. Acura has this feature and Infiniti should too. In fact, I think the elbow rests on BOTH side should be a little bit higher so you don't have to actively hold your arms up to drive.

THERE SHOULD BE A WAY TO TRANSFER FILES FROM THE IPOD OR CF CARD TO THE MUSIC BOX HARD DRIVE. This is the ridiculous that the ONLY way to transfer files to the hard drive is by putting a MUSIC CD into the CD slot and PLAY it to record to the hard drive. FIX THIS. THIS IS STUPID.

Thanks for reading this and I will have more as I spend more time. On balance, I get a lot more GOOD out of my time in the G37 that bad, though it doesn't sound like it here.

 

I drove a Journey Model this past Saturday (loaded with every option except 4-wheel steering). My dealer here in northern Jersey has about 8 in stock including a beautiful red sport model (standard transmission). It's a little ironic that they have 8 in stock yet there are no brochures available yet. The driving experience was impressive for a 3,700 lb. car. I drive an Audi S4 and an S2000 and still consider the G37 quite a bit of bang for the buck. The car handles impressively and accelerates smoothly considering it only has a 5-speed automatic compared to the competition which now run 6 or 7 speed automatics. I have test driven a few cars recently (335 coupe/sedan in both auto and stick as well as the new VW R32) and the G37 certainly holds it's own. The Nav is slick though I am not loving how the optional rear spoiler looks -- it appears tacked on or an after-thought compared to how they nicely integrated the lip on the more recent G35 sedan. Trunk space is pretty limited and shallow and the back seat seams a little tighter than the 335i coupe. Though I am still a big fan of Audi the new S4 and S5 are getting a bit pricey when optioned out and I am looking for something that get's better than 16 miles per gallon around town! Overall an excellent car for the money and lots of fun to drive!

 

My wife and I went to test drive the G37S-6MT on Saturday.

Let me just say - it wasn't what I expected at all! I was expecting a 3668 lbs to drive like a hog, but the engine, transmission, the entire package fully compensated for its weight, size and the numerous options it had.

When we got there, we met up with the same salesman that let us test-drive the FX45 before. He graciously let the both of us alone into the car - probably because he knew we a had precious package in my wife. So he knew I wouldn't be doing anything too crazy. (yeah right - insert devil smilie here)

Starting the car was somewhat interesting. The car gurgled a little bit, probably because it hadn't been driven much having arrive within the week and it was waiting for some action. The push-button start with key-fob was a nice touch and a new experience in itself.

Getting acclimated to the clutch and shifter was a breeze.

The shifting - very light and smooth - maybe a little too light because I'm used to a notchy gearbox and heavy stage-I clutch in my SVT Focus.

The acceleration - it doesn't have the dive at either ends when braking and accelerating. It did snap our necks back on the initial acceleration, but you can anticipate that when getting used to the car.

The engine had a bit of a low-growl from a standstill when accelerating. It was really surprising to find this in an Japanese car. I later learned in the brochure that this was absolutely intentional! It was designed by a sound engineer!

So we headed out into some open road, with the sunroof open, windows down, all comfortable in the full leather seating. I must say - it's very impressive.

Driver positioning was perfect for my 6'3" frame. Bolsters were also adjustable and hugged well. Visibility was good. The window openings were fantastic with no buffeting as the entire front was very aerodynamic minimizing it. The steering wheel was great! It felt "right at home".

So now we go to the ride quality. In one word - smooth. Smooth as silk. The car was equipped with 19" rims and 14" rotors - big brakes, and one would think that with this much weight and equipment, it's a hog, it doesn't handle well etc. Not so.

Let me just say I was glad to have read the driving magazine a little while back, because I gave it quite a test. We headed to one specific area where there's a roundabout/rotary where I could really test it. It's about 300 feet or 30 metres in diameter and everyone not on the rotary must yield to the driver that is in it.

At the rotary, we had fun. Loads of fun! I not only did one full circle, I did two - only to be certain. I shifted into second gear and went at it, modulating the over/understeering by weight transfer with the throttle.

During all this, my wife was giggling! I never heard her giggle so much! It was because I was threatening to do this "skidpad-like test" at this rotary, and now i was able to, but not with my car - someone else's!

To top this off, I didn't even know how fast I was going. All I was concentrating on was to keep the car in control because I knew I was driving to its limits. The interesting thing was, maybe I didn't notice, but I didn't feel the ESP kick in - there was some tire squeal though.

So after the rotary, we headed back on some longer country roads (Maine is nothing but). The ride stayed consistently smooth and we enjoyed the air and the sunroof and the comfortable seats.

I did a few more acceleration/braking tests to confirm my feelings about it - superb!

Back at the dealership, the salesman explained to me the car's features further on. The geek-things I like, and it IS a geek car (because my wife says so):

- 9.3 Gig music box with a compact SD slot;
- Bose system with two 10" subwoofers in the front;
- Bluetooth integration with cellphone.

Looking at its mechanicals further:
- Viscous LSD;
- 330 hp, 270lbft torque;
- short-throw shifter;
- ESP/VDC and TCS;
- Electronic brake force distribution;
- dual air intake system with length-matched dual exhaust.

So in summary, I must say - it's a great car! It's a sport touring car with the best bang for the buck.

 

Glad you enjoyed it and you have found out that it likes to be driven agressively. So much luxury and so much beasty in one package! I'm 6'-3" as well and this car fits me like it was sculpted around my frame.

 

Looks like this is a big man's car! Only for people over 6'0"!!

I also want to add that I was eyeballing the Porsche Cayman S since early February. I even got to test-drive it in Atlanta. But because of the little guy coming and my need for an upgrade, I am seriously considering the G37S.

I'll still get the Cayman S - maybe when it has a worthwhile turbo and LSD in it.

 

I'm getting used to my G37 Journey with sports package and let me tell you that this car is blast to drive. My previous ride was G35 sedan with AT and G37 is just night and day difference in all aspect of driving experience.

The engine response is immediate and crisp and will response to your foot very well in any gears. The paddle shifter action is so much better than my previous G35 manumatic shift and the delay between the each shift seem to be much faster as well.

I'm planing on getting intake but there are only two options currently available from both Stillen and Fujita and can't decide which one to go with. My first choice would be Stillen but I can also get Technosqure's ECU reflash instead for around $500 ~ $600 which I believe will result with much more gain without the intake.

The car being so new in the market that we don't seem to have too many choices for bolt on mods. The overall impression of the car is excellent and you can't beat it's price for what you are getting from it.